alex
don't know if this will help but try doing the squats with a ball between your knees, the slight pressure on the ball strengthens the inner muscle at the knee, also stops your knees bending outwards as you squat

Ideally I would do the knee bending and bracing exercises every day, preferably first thing with the idea of lubricating the joints before using them (and also because what gets done first gets done). I wouldn’t like to do much stretching early in the day, as I fear we are more susceptible to injury then, but this is different. In reality I do it before sessions of weight training and before using the rower or elliptical cross trainer, which adds up to about 4 times a week. It seems to me it is even more important to do it before long walks, but in fact I end up rushing out of the door without. However, I am right now resolving to change all that!

I do believe in the helpfulness of strengthening excises too, but I suppose sometimes nothing can help as much as we want, depending on exactly what’s wrong. However, I’m sure everyone would agree that strengthening, particularly your quads, will be tremendously worthwhile. Even if you were to end up having an op, strong quads would help enormously with recovery. I have a friend of nearly 65 (my age) who had to wait for a NHS double hip op til she couldn’t walk without pain at all, but she carried on riding her bike, weight training and rowing in the gym as much as she could bear. She was out of hospital far faster than the other ‘old ladies’ on her ward, has made a great recovery and is back rock climbing, though her consultant forbids her to run.

For strengthening my quads I mostly do one leg half squats (or rather quarter squats, because I’m not strong enough yet to go down as far as I’d like). These are good for balance as well, but you can do them holding on too. Half means half way to horizontal thighs. Full squats, as you probably know, are controversial as they put a lot of stress on the knees. It’s important that as you go down you think sitting rather than knee bending, as your knees should never get in front of your toes.

Supplements: I take high dose glucosamine with chondroitine (from Healthspan, mail order), also fish oil (not cod liver oil). There have been some studies suggesting glucosamine is helpful, less for chondroitine, but I’m so keen to do what I can for myself, I think it’s worth taking them. Fish oil is good for you in so many proven ways, one can hardly lose taking it, and I also make sure to eat tinned salmon or sardines 3-4 times a week.

Distance: some years ago my knees got so bad I was truly wondering about a stair lift. For a while I used one trekking pole on walks, and found to my surprise that there seemed to be no correlation between length of walk, rough ground and knee pain. Since then I have joined the LDWA, done events up to 27 miles (don’t really want to walk any further), carried a seriously heavy rucsac along French GRs. HOWEVER since 2005 I have been troubled with an intermittent knee pain which may or may not be arthritic and may or may not bring my walking to an end. Wish me luck!

Alex something I forgot to ask about was does taking supplements like cod liver oil and glucosamine help? Also does arthritis limit the distance you can cover? I had entered for the Cant Canolbarth but have had to withdraw due to stiffness in the hips. If I have to stick to normal day length challenge & social walks then that is fine. Can you do any longer events?

Alex thank you very much indeed for your advice about the movements. As mentioned previously I did do some exercises for my knee cartilage and these did help with my legs. When my knee got better I stopped doing the exercises and started seizing up again. I take it that you do these exercises daily is that once a day or twice?
Ian & Pauline also thank you for your interest. I did speak to my GP after the initial consultation and he really did not think that getting a second opinion would be of much use. But it is something I will consider in particular going to see a sports injury specialist. Thanks to all 3 of you for your help

In a recent radio 4 Checkup programme a consultant said that the only criterion for deciding when someone should have a hip replacement op is how much it is affecting his/her quality of life. He said, this would obviously vary from person to person depending what they wanted to do in life. I have heard this too from people who have had the op - to get it their GPs advised them to think up ways the bad hip was harming their quality of life eg tell the consultant they couldn't go on the holidays they wanted and it was getting them down!
For self-treatment, Grisogono the well known sports physio writer advises the following exercises:
1) Knee bending. Lie on your back, bring alternate knees up to your chest while keeping the other leg straight. Do this daily, and especially before walking or running. I am hoping it is also good for my hips.
2) Knee bracing. Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front. Curve your toes up towards your knees while trying to press the backs of your knees into the floor, bracing your quads. You can also do this while standing, eg while queuing. Repeat 10 times?
Do both these daily, and especially before walking or running. The idea is to put your joints through their full range of movement so that the synovial fluid, which can't circulate on its own, will fully lubricate all the joint. In normal life, we keep putting our joints through a very small range of movement - think how many times in just one LDWA walk! It seems to me evident this can't be good. I have had mildish osteo arthritis in many parts for years and I really do do these 2 exercises - I think it helps.
The other traditional advice for osteo arthritis is to keep moving - I'm sure this is right too. Good luck!

There is something not right here - my boss, who is not yet 50, has had a 'Birmingham refurbishment' on both hips.

It may be that his condition was so severe there was no other option.

I think I would be looking for a second or third option - just because he is a doctor doesn't mean he knows what is right for you. Find one who does.

John thanks for that encouraging advice. But being under 60 I think I'm still too young for a "Birmingham" refurbishment. I shall keep plodding on for as long as I can with the aid of a trekking pole, orthotic insoles and various supplements that have been recommended to me. Was a bit of a shock at first but I'm sure I'll cope. Hope your operation goes ok and we can compare hip performances!

Norman , just a few facts that I hope you will find encouraging.
I'm waiting for a new hip,courtesy of the NHS,I'm told this will be done mid June ( 5days hospitalised ),this will be a combination of titanium/ceramics,I'm 72 ,if I'd been under 65 they would have given me a 'Birmingham'refurbishment which means you keep your old hip but it gets 'relined';over 65 and the bones get too brittle,so they just saw off the old bit and screw in the new part 'so to speak'.
My surgeon is very positive and assures me that after about 12 weeks I should be back to normal and able to walk 20/30 miles comfortably.
Frankly, I think your consultant is not being very helpful and I would ignore him.

Tony I don't think the consultant is a walker but my GP was a bit more sympathetic and is aware of how much time I spend doing this. Probably not as much in the future.... Shall have to investigate knee supports though it's going to play havoc with my tan line in the summer!
It's interesting the comment from Ian about quad exercises because I was doing those some while back and in retrospect they did help.

I bet your consultant isn't a walker! The above advice is good, I have had knee trouble for some time and the two best things for it were - stopping running and using a pole. I find a single one best for me especially when descending.
I do not have specialist orthopaedic experience but I was a GP for more than 30 years and I didn't spend a lot of time telling people not to do what they enjoyed!

Hi Ian thanks for that. Unfortunately I am considered too young (at 51!) for a hip or knee replacement. Was hoping to do the 100 as well. I do use a trekking pole on most events. Thanks for the advice about quads. Another friend of mine recommended that as well. After 25 plus years of doing this as a hobby the consultant's recommendation of stopping came as a bit of a shock..

sorry to hear that norman try and get your doctor to try different pain killers untill you find one that works, steroid injects can help, strengthen your quads and use walking poles, and there's hip and knee replacement depending on how far it's gone

I've just been told by a consultant that I have osteo-arthritis in my right knee and also signs of it in my hip. His recommendation was that I should stop walking! Any advice for dealing with this complaint.